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Insurance in India: An Overview
Insurance may be described as a social device to reduce or eliminate risk of life and property. Under the plan of insurance, a large number of people associate themselves by sharing risk, attached to individual. The risk, which can be insured against include fire, the peril of sea, death, incident, & burglary. Any risk contingent upon these may be insured against at a premium commensurate with the risk involved. Insurance is actually a contract between 2 parties whereby one party called insurer undertakes in exchange for a fixed sum called premium to pay the other party happening of a certain event. Insurance is a contract whereby, in return for the payment of premium by the insured, the insurers pay the financial losses suffered by the insured as a result of the occurrence of unforeseen events. With the help of Insurance, large number of people exposed to a similar risk make contributions to a common fund out of which the losses suffered by the unfortunate few, due to accidental events, are made good.

Indian Insurance Industry
The recommendations of the committee put stress on offering operational autonomy to the insurance service providers and also suggested forming an independent regulatory body. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act of 1999 brought about several crucial policy changes in the insurance sector of India. The IRDA Act in was followed by the formation of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) 2000. The goals of the IRDA are to safeguard the interests of insurance policyholders, as well as initiate different policy measures to help sustain growth in the Indian insurance sector.

Insurance Policies in India at a Glance
Life insurance policies in India come in many different forms. The most common types include: term life policies, endowment policies, joint life policies, whole life policies, loan cover term assurance policies, unit-linked insurance plans, group insurance policies, pension plans, and annuities. General insurance plans are also available to cover motors insurance, home insurance, travel insurance and health insurance. Generally defined, insurance is a system of providing protection against monetary loss caused by unforeseen events. Insurance policies provide safeguards to ease risks associated with unexpected accidents, damages or the loss of personal property. The history of insurance in India dates back to the year 1818, when the Oriental Life Insurance Company was formed in Kolkata. The Life Insurance Act of 1912 marked the beginning of a new era in the insurance sector of India. The Indian Insurance Companies Act was passed in the year 1928. This act empowered the government of India to gather necessary information about the life insurance and non-life insurance organizations operating in Indian financial markets. The Triton Insurance Company Ltd. formed in 1850 and was the first of its kind in the general insurance sector in India. The Indian Mercantile Insurance Limited was established in 1907, and was the company in India to handle all classes of insurance.

Reform in the Indian Insurance Sector
Reform in the Indian insurance sector was initiated with the formation of the Malhotra Committee in 1993. It was named after R.N. Malhotra, the then Finance Secretary and RBI Governor, who headed the committee.
The aim of the Malhotra Committee was to assess the functionality of the Indian insurance sector. This committee was also in charge of recommending the future path of insurance in India. The Malhotra Committee attempted to improve various aspects of the financial sector, making them more appropriate and effective for the Indian market. Insurance companies in India:
Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA)http://www.irdaindia.org/
IRDA has so far granted registration to 12 private life insurance companies and 9 general insurance companies. If the existing public sector insurance companies are included, there are currently 13 insurance companies in the life side and 13 companies operating in general insurance business. General Insurance Corporation has been approved as the "Indian reinsurer" for underwriting only reinsurance business. Particulars of the Indian Insurance companies including both life insurance companies and general insurance companies is given below:

Insurance Policies in India
Insurance sector in India has a larger contribution to the financial market in the country.
Reform process in the sector has started in the year 1991 and has facilitated to the private players to the market. Some of the insurance policy, details requirement for the coverage in the policy, date of commencement of the policy and their adopting organizations.